How to hide your Instagram Story posts from your kids
It’s not just tweens and teens who might be using Finstas (Fake-Instagram accounts) to throw off their parents. We parents whose kids and their friends follow us on Instagram have probably considered using them in case we want to freely post about our crazy...
How do you change the font on your Instagram bio?
Every so often, you probably see an Instagram name that pops up in wedding script, some gothic type, or even upside down, and if you’ve wondered how you change the font on your Instagram bio, it’s so simple! There are apps you can download or keyboards you...
How do I keep kids safe on social media? | Guide to Digital Parenting
We couldn’t create an Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting without including tips about how to keep your kids safe on social media. After all, for our tweens and teens, the Internet is social media, and they could sooner give up the games, the videos, and even...
How can I stop inappropriate follow requests on Instagram?
Last week, we had a lively discussion about inappropriate follow requests on Instagram in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook Group. Many parents bemoaned the challenges of trying to navigate this with their kids on Instagram, even on private accounts. Unfortunately,...
Screen time and social media with kids: We might be doing it wrong, parents
Since reading Anya Kamenetz’s interview with Jordan Shapiro on NPR, I’ve made some heavy shifts in how I’m approaching screen time with my kids. For the years that they’ve been on video games, tablets and most recently, their own phones,...
So why are we all still on Facebook again?
If we’re all perfectly honest with ourselves, then we know that Facebook has presented many privacy issues for a long time now. We’ve been writing about Facebook privacy issues since we started Cool Mom Tech in 2010. That’s nine years. NINE. A quick...
Get ready, parents! Facebook will soon integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
According to an article in the New York Times that just came out today, Mark Zuckerberg is planning to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. That’s right, over the course of 2019 and into 2020, these apps will be reconfigured in a way that would allow...
A new study says teens feel social media has an positive impact on their lives
Our friends over at Common Sense Media recently conducted a survey study of teens 13-17 years old, and we have to admit that the results are fascinating, and well, reassuring. If you have a tween or teen, it’s worth taking the few minutes to read their summary,...
Web Coolness: Fortnite tutors, headphones that block snoring, and more!
Here are some of our favorite tech links from around the web. We hope you find them interesting and helpful. Keep an eye out for this iOS phishing scam that connects you with Apple Care. Yes, it’s true. Parents are hiring Fortnite coaches. Our Out Tech Your...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz
We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.
We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.
We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.
(Answer: It's complicated.)
We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.
Our Podcast. (It’s won awards and everything!)
Parents have questions, we have answers
NEW For 2019!
No More Mean Girls, by Katie Hurley
The Yes Brain, by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
How to Break Up with Your Phone, by Christine Price
The New Childhood, by Jordan Shapiro
How to Be a Happier Parent by KJ Dell'Antonia
Raising Empowered Daughters by Mike Adamick
Radical Kindness by Angela Santomero
“We just had our first instance of one of our kids lying about a social media account. Any advice is appreciated on how to handle this in as positive a way.”
So they want to get a smartphone…
Work with us!
